His full name is Nurallaji Misuari. He completed his education through academic scholarships. During his days at the University of the Philippines he was a student activist.

He was a lecturer at the University of the Philippines on political science. In the early 1970s he was one of the organizers of the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) seeking for better treatment of the people of Mindanao by the Manila government. The MIM later on paved way in the organization of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MNLF is the BangsaMoro united armed forces that sought for the independence of the BangsaMoro people and homeland that comprised of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan known as MinSuPala. The MNLF waged bitter wars with the Philippine government from 1972 to 1976 under Nur Misuari as the Chairperson. The high morale of the MNLF freedom fighters forced the Manila government under late president Ferdinand E. Marcos to sign peace agreement under the auspices of the Libyan government of Col. Muamar Qadafi. This peace agreement is known as the Tripoli Agreement.

The Tripoli Agreement, in the opinion of the MNLF, has not been complied by the Philippine government. The provision that required Philippine legislative confirmation of many of the vital aspects of the Tripoli Agreement like ancestral domain, territories, and administrative system provide the Philippine government perfect alibis to dishonor it.

The Philippine Congress has been controlled by legislators who were against the very spirit of the agreement especially in providing meaningful autonomy for the BangsaMoro people.

Nur Misuari was compelled again to lead the MNLF in the arm struggle after more than ten years of patience and persistent protest on the Philippine government non-compliance.

He was in self exile in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia until Marcos was ousted and the Corazon "Cory" Aquino government was installed in 1986.

The new Philippine government initiated another peace negotiation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the MNLF. It was the administration of Fidel V. Ramos that the Autonomous Region of Muslimn Mindanao (ARMM) was organized. The ARMM was meant to implement the 1976 Tripoli Agreement.

However, because ARMM was created through legislative process, it was perceived by the MNLF to be lacking in substance in the implementation of the Tripoli Agreement that called for the meaningful autonomy of the BangsaMoro people. Nur Misuari as governor of ARMM was miserably portrayed by the GRP as inept and corrupt. However, studies by several international organizations revealed that ARMM as created by the Philippines Congress was not really equipped to provide meaningful autonomy for the BangsaMoro people even for those who are under the ARMM cities and provinces. Nur Misuari as a revolutionary leader became a helpless prey of the divide-and-conquer strategy of the GRP.

Nur Misuari has consistently voiced out his protest on the non-implementation of the Tripoli Agreement and including the latest agreement signed by Ramos administration. When Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) became President, Nur Misuari was ousted by the "MNLF Council of 15" and was forced to vacate his chairmanship of the MNLF. He was then subsequently incarcerated after leading an insurrection in the ARMM alongside his aides and former MNLF members.

It is believed that the ouster of Nur Misuari was planned by the Philippine Government through the Council of 15. Upon his ousting, Nur Misuari was replaced by a senior official of the MNLF.

Presently, the ARMM Governor is not a member of the MNLF and is said to be a violation of the peace agreement signed between the Philippine Government and the MNLF during the Ramos administration.